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Outrageously Easy BIG Bread

What you need: 

2 (1/4 ounce) packets yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups hot water
3 tablespoons turbinado
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups + 3 cups flour, divided
1/3 cup vegetable or corn oil

What you do: 

1. To proof yeast, pour warm water into a small ceramic bowl and add the yeast, but do not stir. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, pour hot water over the turbinado and salt; stir with a wooden spoon to completely dissolve. Combine 3 cups flour with the hot water mixture. Pour the oil on top of the dough mixture then add the yeast mixture on top of that, but do not stir.
2. Top with the remaining 3 cups flour and mix well. (I begin mixing with the wooden spoon but I very quickly have to move into squishing the dough with my hands.) At this point, the dough should be pliant and moist, but not gooey. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside to rise for at least 45 minutes. (I've left it for almost two hours.)
3. On a lightly floured cutting board or countertop, divide the dough into half. (This is when I recruit someone to knead the dough, but the recipe actually calls for no kneading; I've done this recipe many times without kneading anything, and it always turns out really good.) Flatten each half into roughly an oval/rounded rectangular shape, about 1/2-3/4" thickness.
4. Roll the dough lengthwise and place on an ungreased, but very BIG, cookie sheet. (If you don't have a very large cookie sheet, use two cookie sheets, one for each half of the dough.) Cover the dough with a moist towel and set aside to rise again for another 45 minutes (or longer).
5. After the dough has risen the second time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and bake for exactly 23 minutes. If you can keep everyone from digging in right away, allow to cool for about 15 minutes and then enjoy. (Also, before the bread bakes, you can slit the top of each lump of dough a couple of times and brush lightly with some kind of egg substitute. The glaze helps the bread come out with a slightly crunchier crust. I don't usually bother.)
Source of recipe: Whenever I go to potlucks, I bake this bread and it disappears within minutes. I've even had special requests for it. At a family Christmas, after I found out that store-bought rolls (ick!) would be served with the Christmas Eve dinner, I announced that I would make homemade bread. Since dinner would be served in a little less than two hours and since my family knows how much I absolutely detest cooking, my mother thought I was lying. She couldn't believe that I could make "respectable" bread without any kneading and in time for dinner. I made this bread and, as usual, it vanished almost instantly. My mother got this bread recipe from me. I think the dogs got the store-bought rolls.

Preparation Time: 
2 hours, Cooking time: 23 minutes
Cooking Time: 
23 minutes
Servings: 
2
Recipe Category: 

SO HOW'D IT GO?

Amazingly easy and delightfully delicious! I made the dough just like the recipe, but I formed it into rolls (or buns or little loaves) and baked them at 300¤ for about an hour. Oh, my gosh! When I took them out, they smelled so good! And when I tasted one . . . . Sheer perfection! No more store-bought bread for me! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

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i had to add my review too because ohh my gosh.. this bread is amazing!! it was SO easy, kinda time consuming but most of it was just waiting so i was able to get other stuff done while it was rising. i've made homemade bread before and it's never been so amazing!thanks for the recipe!

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I admit, I was very intimidated by making my own bread.  This recipe, however, totally lives up to it's name!  It was so much easier than I had anticipated and the bread was delish!  I follow the suggestion of brushing the loaves with an egg replacer to make the outside nice and crunchy.  I am going to try making this into garlic loaves next time.

Thanks for the wonderful recipe!!

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I have made this twice now, both times using the spent (barley) grains after brewing a batch of beer, and it turned out great.  I've only done a half batch at a time, and have a added a bit extra sweetener in the form of agave, and it was an awesome snack bread, sandwich bread, and a dipping bread too.  I wasn't going to post my pics, but I figure one more won't hurt =P.

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I topped my loaves with a mixture of 1t each garlic powder, basil, and Italian seasoning, and 1/2t crushed red pepper. Sprayed the dough with olive oil and sprinkled the mixture over them. Very popular variation.

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I am so grateful to whoever posted this recipe.  I have used it for years.  In fact, I have a batch rising on my counter right now.  I always knead the bread, because I love the feel (though only 5 minutes for each loaf).  Now that I no longer ingest sugar, I skip that part and it still turns out awesome!!!  I also have used different oils (whatever I have on hand) and always some variation of whole wheat flour (pastry flour, bread flour, etc).  To make it easier for myself in the morning, instead of baking as a whole loaf (which I needed to heat in the oven to taste right) I now make individual flat pieces (almost like Naan) which I can slip in the toaster.  I will also chop up fresh garlic an place inside the individual pieces.  Simply divine!!!!   ;)

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I thought the flavors are alright. My bread didn't rise much, which is probably my fault since I think the water was too hot for the yeast. I like the texture though. I'll try it again in the future to see if it'll improve.

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oh man. I LOVE this bread. it turns out perfectly every time. I'm making rolls for tomorrow's christmas dinner. They smell wonderful, I don't think they'll make it to tomorrow afternoon!

Thank you for this recipe!!!

:)>>>

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My bread turned out really dense and refused to fully cook even after an extra half-hour of baking time. WHYYYYYY?! I used 3 cups whole wheat flour and 3 cups unbleached white.

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Your recipe is great. Having baked bread for years growing up,it is nice to make a no fuss bread. Thank you
                                                   

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